Brave Announces Coming Browser With Support for Chrome Extensions

by ·
April 1, 2018

Brave, an open source web browser by Mozilla’s co-founder that claims to block ads and trackers, in addition to facilitating cryptocurrency-based micro-transactions between content consumers and producers, has announced development plans for its upcoming 1.0 release. The new release will transition to being based on Chromium – making it compatible with all of Google Chrome’s extensions and features.

New Chrome-Based Brave Browser Expected Later This Year

Brave has published a document revealing that it has been developing a new browser “based on Chromium […] which also uses Chromium’s native user interface instead of [its] current HTML and Javascript UI” in recent months. The “rewrite” has been made “available for developers as open source.”

The new release will “have support for nearly all [Google] Chrome features and extension APIs,” unlike the current Brave browser. Despite supporting chrome’s extensions, Brave claims that the new browser will not “includ[e] any code that phones home to Google, or to the Chrome Web Store.” The document also notes that “Brave for Android already uses Chromium fully, […] without the code for Google accounts, sync, or other Google-specific surveillance risks.”

The update states that the Brave 1.0 “is coming later this year,” however no estimate is given as to a specific launch date.

More Updates Expected From Brave

The document states that the open source version made available to developers “is not yet ready to be released as an upgrade” to Brave’s current “Muon-based” browser, adding that “Critical features such as Brave Payments, Tor private tabs, and sync still need to be added based on the Muon implementations.”

The company is also working on updating it’s iOS browser, stating that it is “now in the midst of moving” from UI Web View “to WK Web View [-] to benefit from Apple’s newer engine and preferred embedding solution.”

Lastly, Brave users will “soon” be given to option “see opt-in, private […] ads,” for which they will be distributed a “70% revenue share” on advertising earnings in the form of Brave’s cryptocurrency, Basic Attention Token (BAT).

Will you use Brave’s Chromium-based browser? Share your opinions in the comments section below!